Each year, about 1,500 children in the United States are rushed to hospital emergency rooms with accidental gunshot injuries. Nearly 200 children died from such wounds in 1994. Surprisingly, experts continue to suggest that firearm owners should not use conventional trigger locks on firearms they keep loaded for protection since rapid use of a such firearm in an emergency is not possible.
In an effort to provide a firearm owner with quicker access to a firearm, yet prevent others from gaining unauthorized access, specialized firearm safes have been proposed. These safes generally include receptacles for securely receiving one or more firearms. Because of their relatively small size, firearm safes are easily carried off by children, thieves and others unless such are mounted upon immovable objects. Once mounted in place, however, some users find it difficult, especially in the dark, to manipulate the combination locks of their safes to gain access to their firearms.